Rented normally, it costs you £37 a month. That is £445 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

You would not own it outright — 54 years left, and buying more years is expensive

Nobody has priced those extra years here, and they cost more every year you leave it.

4 problems found · 2 came back clear · 1 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £37 a month — the mortgage takes 49p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £6,849 less would close that shortfall — which is £6,849 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£907−£447−£497−£37

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £907 of that — you cover £37

◧ market rent £907 · 131 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.50% is the 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£37,650 + refurb costs

And about £2,226 more over five years, because it loses £37 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£37,650 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,417, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £37 a month. At £100,858 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £5,043 at that price.

offer £100,858

asked £110,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+121 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£849–£969/mo

■ 131 lettings within 500 m□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 14% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£748 needed

of £872 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £872PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 576 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Southend-On-Sea, SS1 2LS

2 of 2 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £37 a month

Let it to the council: £1,008 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£37 · £44,067 in

Guaranteed council rent−£121 · £44,067 in

Housing-benefit rent−£267 · £44,067 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£6,076 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

Less than the same cash would have made in a savings account, after tax on the interest. The savings account’s capital is not at risk; the property’s is. A fall of about 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £44,067 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£44,067+£126,054−£3,151−£82,500−£2,411−£6,076

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed